Walking

Humans start taking their first steps around the time they turn a year old. From there on, we quickly go from being a chunky baby to a lean and mean mobile toddler. So what changed?

Walking….

It is estimated that toddlers take more than 17,000 steps per day!!

This major increase in steps per day is a primary driver in their bodyfat reduction as they grow. Children around 6 months of age average a bodyfat percentage of around 30%, but by the time they start steppin’ and hit 2 years of age, their average bodyfat is around 19.5%. This equates to a 35% overall reduction in bodyfat!

Ok, why am I talking about babies and toddlers? Because if you are reading this, you were likely one of those 17,000 steps a day toddlers. But somewhere along the way, most of our daily physical activities decline.

While there is a huge variance between active individuals, and those that are sedentary, studies suggest the average American only walks between 3,000 - 4,000 steps per day. Surely we can do better…

Small but impactful changes are easier than you might think. Walking at a steady pace gives us about 100 steps per minute. So, by getting into a routine of walking just 15 minutes in the morning, and another 15 minutes in the afternoon, we can increase our steps by 3,000 per day (or double the daily average)!

Seems simple enough, and it’s free!

SO WHY ISN’T EVERYONE DOING IT….

Can we blame it on our desk jobs where we spend 8 hours of our day, and feeling drained when we get home? Or maybe binging Netflix and scrolling on our phones from the time get home until it’s time for bed, because it’s easy to get sucked into technology? The truth is, modern life is full of distractions, and it is easy to get into a routine where every waking moment of our day is centered around pursuing comfort and entertainment, over physical activity.

For many of us physical activity just isn’t prioritized. It’s also common for people to think they need to make major changes to get positive results. They start a routine that requires too much of a commitment, or it’s something they don’t enjoy, so they don’t make it a lifestyle, and eventually stop it altogether. But in reality, you don’t need to commit to going to the gym for an hour every day to make impactful changes in your health and wellness. You can start with walking…

BENEFITS OF WALKING

Research has shown that a regular walking routine can provide numerous physical and mental benefits, and even improve a number of health conditions such as:

• Obesity

• Heart Disease

• Diabetes

• High blood pressure

• Depression

WAYS TO START

Starting a walking routine should be pretty straightforward, but there are some things you can do to help ensure you make it a lifestyle. Here’s a few tips that can help make it easier to stick to it more frequently:

• Write down a goal and put it somewhere visible (like on your fridge) as a daily reminder. Setting an intent and writing it down helps people achieve their goals at a much higher rate than those who don’t.

• Tell friends and family you are starting a walking challenge. Similar to writing it down, speaking your intent to people you are close with will help motivate you to stick with it.

• Get a dog. Having a commitment like needing to take the dog for a daily walk is another great way to make sure this becomes more of a lifestyle approach.

• Buy a fitness tracker watch. Investing in a small purchase like a tracker device can make it more fun and interactive to track your routine and progress. They can be a great tool if you would like to increase your distance or difficulty over time, to compare your numbers like distance, heart rate, calories etc. We love the Garmin products like this watch, for its phone app and to track the progress on your phone, which is fun and easy to use.

• Buy some new walking shoes. If you don’t already have a nice pair of shoes for walking, making a new purchase can help to motivate you to use them, and you will feel better on longer or more frequent walking routines.

• Get a ruck backpack. This will allow you to keep challenging yourself and make more progress with your overall fitness. You can get a backpack like this and add weights when you are ready for more of a challenge. This training method can help improve your hiking abilities a lot!

Try listening to your favorite music, put on a podcast or audiobook. Or, just enjoy nature and let your mind wander which can be great for clearing your head on a work day or when life gets busy.

Here at Optimized U, we are all about implementing small changes that provide the greatest benefit. Things like walking may seem small, but the long term positive changes you will notice in your physical and mental wellbeing can be profound. These small changes can be great on their own, but they can also be the catalyst to motivating you to eat better, or start other hobbies and activities also.

Reach out if you would like to learn more about health and wellness routines to help feel your best each day, and let’s get steppin’!!